WO2002045426A1

WO2002045426A1 - Video terminal, video terminal communicating system, and videoconference system

Info

Publication number: WO2002045426A1
Application number: PCT/JP2000/008519
Authority: WO
Inventors: Satoru Sudo
Original assignee: Ginganet Corporation
Priority date: 1999-06-03
Filing date: 2000-12-01
Publication date: 2002-06-06
Also published as: KR100595029B1; AU2001215568B2; KR20040026644A; AU1556801A; US7161632B2; CN1484918A; CA2430432A1; US20040051780A1; IL156210A0; EP1347645A4; EP1347645A1

Abstract

According to the types of images displayed on a parent screen and a child one, the screen configurations of the parent and child screens are optimized. A video terminal capable of displaying thereon a child screen within a parent one includes a signal control section (15) for optimizing the screen configurations of the parent and child screens according to the types of images on the parent and child screens. If the parent screen is a split composite screen comprising split screens, the signal control section (15) displays the child screen on one split screen on a monitor (11); and if the parent screen is the full screen, the signal control section (15) displays the child screen small.

Description

Specification

Television terminal equipment, television terminal communication system, and video conference system

The present invention relates to a video terminal device such as a video phone terminal and a video conference terminal, and more particularly, to a video terminal device capable of displaying a sub-screen in a main screen, a video terminal communication system using the same, and Related to videoconferencing systems. Background art

Conventionally, there has been provided a television terminal device capable of displaying, for example, a 1/9 size small screen in a main screen, and a moving picture surface is displayed on the small screen. In such a conventional television terminal device, the user himself / herself can select what is displayed on the main screen and what is displayed on the sub-screen. In addition, the user can select the sub screen to be displayed on the screen (specifically, the upper left, lower left, upper right, or lower right). .

However, a system for automatically selecting and changing the screen configuration between the parent screen and the child screen has not been proposed so far.

On the other hand, recently, a video conference system using a communication control device for multipoint communication, which connects a plurality of TV terminal devices via a communication line, is becoming widespread and is being used in this video conference system. The communication control unit (Mu1tipoint Control Unit) has the function of displaying the image of each terminal in four divisions on each screen of each TV terminal device connecting the four points. For example, when a 19-size child screen is further displayed on a television terminal device displaying such a 4-split composite screen, not only does the screen configuration become complicated and the overall balance becomes poor, but also the 1Z9 In one split screen of a 4-split composite screen in which a child screen of the size is displayed, the split screen itself is very visible. It becomes a difficult screen. In addition, in the four-split composite screen in this case, one of the four split screens and the sub-screen (in the case of a moving image) are the same screen, resulting in a wasteful screen configuration.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem. The purpose of the present invention is to select the type of image to be displayed on the main screen and the type of image to be displayed on the sub-screen, and DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a television terminal device, a television terminal communication system, and a video conference system that automatically optimize the screen configuration by automatically changing the screen configuration of the child screen and the sub-screen.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a television terminal device of the present invention is a television terminal device capable of displaying a sub-screen in a main screen, the type of image to be displayed on the main screen and the image to be displayed on the sub-screen. And a means for optimizing the screen configuration of the parent screen and the child screen according to the type of the screen. '

Further, the television terminal device of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above configuration, when the sub-screen is a still image, the optimizing means displays the sub-screen in a large size. Further, in the television terminal device of the present invention, in the above configuration, the optimizing means displays the sub-screen at the size of one divided screen when the main screen is a divided composite screen, and the main screen is a full-screen screen. In some cases, the sub-screen is displayed small.

Further, a video conference system of the present invention is a video conference system including the video terminal device configured as described above and a communication control device for multipoint communication connecting the plurality of video terminal devices via a communication line. The communication control device determines the display position of the child screen according to the type of the plane image displayed on the main screen selected by each television terminal device. Further, the television terminal communication system of the present invention is a television terminal communication system having a configuration in which the above-described television terminal devices are connected in a one-to-one correspondence via a communication line. A display mode designation command for designating a screen configuration of a parent screen and a child screen optimized by the optimization means; Transmitting means for transmitting to the other television terminal device via the line, receiving means for receiving the display mode designation command transmitted from the other television terminal device via the communication line, and display received by the receiving means Switching means for switching the screen configuration in accordance with the mode designation command is provided. Further, a video conference system of the present invention is a video conference system including the video terminal device having the above configuration and a communication control device for multipoint communication connecting the plurality of video terminal devices via a communication line. And transmitting means for transmitting, via a communication line, a display mode designation command for designating a screen configuration of a parent screen and a child screen optimized by the optimizing means to the communication control device. And a receiving unit for receiving a display mode designation command transmitted from the communication control device via a communication line; and a switching unit for switching a screen configuration according to the display mode designation command received by the receiving unit. The device includes a relay unit that transmits a display mode designation command transmitted from each television terminal device to another television terminal device. And features that characterized the door.

A television terminal device according to the present invention is a television terminal device capable of displaying a sub-screen in a main screen, wherein the main screen corresponds to the type of image displayed on the main screen and the type of image displayed on the sub-screen. And a means for optimizing the screen configuration of the sub-screens. ( ¹⁾ Selecting the type of the main screen and the type of the sub-screen simply optimizes the screen configuration between the main screen and the sub-screen. It can be displayed in a screen configuration.

In addition, the television terminal device of the present invention is configured such that, when the sub-screen is a still image, the sub-screen is displayed in a large size, so that a still image such as character information is always displayed on the screen in a state that is easy to see. be able to.

Further, the television terminal device of the present invention displays the sub-screen at the size of one divided screen when the main screen is a divided composite screen, and displays the sub-screen smaller when the main screen is a full screen screen. The sub-screen can always be displayed in an optimal screen configuration according to the type of the main screen. In addition, the video conference system of the present invention provides a communication system for multipoint communication that connects a television terminal device to the plurality of television terminal devices via a communication line. The communication control device is configured to determine the display position of the child screen according to the type of image displayed on the parent screen selected by each television terminal device. The subscreen can always be displayed at the optimal position.

Further, in the television terminal communication system of the present invention, in a configuration in which the television terminal devices are directly connected in a one-to-one correspondence via a communication line, each television terminal device has a parent screen optimized by the optimizing means. Transmitting means for transmitting a display mode designation command for designating the screen configuration of the other television terminal device via the communication line to the other television terminal device, and a display transmitted from the other television terminal device via the communication line The receiving device receives the mode designation command and the switching device switches the screen configuration according to the display mode designation command received by the receiving device. If you want to send to another user, the material can be displayed on the other terminal in an optimal screen configuration without the user of the other terminal performing any operation.

Also, the video conference system of the present invention comprises a TV terminal device and a communication control device for multipoint communication connecting these multiple TV terminal devices via a communication line. Transmitting means for transmitting a display mode designation command for specifying the screen configuration of the parent screen and the child screen optimized by the optimizing means to the communication control device via the communication line, and from the communication control device via the communication line. The communication control device includes a receiving unit that receives the transmitted display mode designation command, and a switching unit that switches a screen configuration according to the display mode designation command received by the reception unit. A relay device for transmitting the incoming display mode designation command to another TV terminal device is provided. If you want to send to the user of the other terminal, the user of the other terminal is not a child of the any operation, Ru can be displayed in the optimum screen configuration the conference material to another terminal. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of a video conference system using the TV terminal device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a more specific configuration of the video conference terminal. Fig. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the display mode switching processing operation at each video conference terminal in the video conference system.Fig. 4 is the display mode switching at each video conference terminal in the video conference system. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of a video conference system using the TV terminal device of the present invention. '

This videoconferencing system is composed of a plurality of TV terminal devices (hereinafter referred to as “videoconference terminals _!”) La and lb * '* ln, and a plurality of these via a communication line 2a, 2b ♦ 2n. Video conference terminals 1 a, lb · · · · Consists of a communication control unit (MCU) 3 for multipoint communication connecting between In. Each video conference terminal 1 a, 1 b · · · 1 As shown in Fig. 2, n is a television 11 used as a video information display unit and audio information output unit, a TV camera 12 as a video information capture unit, and a microphone 13 as an audio information capture unit. , A keyboard 14 as a character information input unit, and communication lines 2 a, 2 b,... 2 n corresponding to these components, and each component and each communication line 2 a , 2b ... 2n Signal control unit 1 such as a multiplexer that controls the input and output of signals to and from n Other examples of the video conference terminal 1 a, lb · · · In include a display unit, a speaker, a camera, a microphone and a keyboard, and a personal computer with a modem. There is a computer.

As an example of the communication line, there is an integrated server network (SDN) line or a high-speed digital dedicated line. In a video conference system having such a configuration, each video conference terminal la, 1 b · · · In is configured so that images from four locations including its own terminal can be displayed simultaneously on the screen of the TV 11 (hereinafter referred to as the “TV screen”). In the embodiment, in addition to this, it is possible to display a 19-size child screen with respect to the main screen (full screen screen or the whole of the 4-split composite screen).

Further, the keyboard 14 is provided with a selection key (not shown) for selecting the type of image to be displayed on the main screen and the type of image to be displayed on the sub-screen. In addition, a configuration is provided with switching means for automatically switching the screen configuration (display • size and display position) of the child screen with respect to the parent screen. This switching means is realized by the signal control unit 15 in the present embodiment, and in the case of a personal computer, it is realized by a system controller that controls the operation of the entire computer. The switching means executes a processing operation in accordance with a display mode switching processing program stored in an internal ROM (not shown). Here, as the display form of the main screen, there are a full screen display (a display form in which the entire screen is composed of one screen) and a 4-split display. In addition, there are two types of parent faces: received video and still images, and three types of sub-screens: received video, transmitted video, and still images.

Next, the display mode switching processing operation of each of the video conference terminals 1a, 1b,... 1η in the video conference system having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. However, FIG. 3 is a flowchart in the case where the parent screen is a 4-split composite screen, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart in the case where the parent screen is a full screen screen.

As described above, the display mode of the main screen includes a full-screen display (a display mode in which the entire screen is composed of one screen) and a 4-split display. In addition, there are two types of parent screens: received video and still images, and three types of child screens: received video, transmitted video, and still images.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, taking these factors into account, the combination of the main screen and the sub-screen (the main screen / the sub-screen) is defined as (1) the received moving image, the transmitted moving image, and (2) the still image. / Received video, (3) Received video Still image, and 3 types can be selected. In addition, there are two types of received video: full-screen and 4-split composite. In other words, there is a full-screen screen by the MCU 3, a 4-minute ratio screen, and a full-screen screen by one-to-one connection of each video conference terminal 1a, 1b,... 1n.

[13 When the parent screen is a 4-split composite screen

That is, when the selection key is operated (S1), the received video of the 4-split composite screen is selected as the main screen, and the transmitted video is selected as the sub-screen (S2), the display mode switching means performs this selection. Based on the combination, the transmitted video, which is a small screen, is displayed at the position of its own terminal in 1/4 size (from S3 to S4). At this time, when the own terminal is not displayed (when the judgment in S3 is Yes), and when there is a blank screen in the 4-split composite screen (when the judgment in S5 is Yes) ), The transmission video, which is a sub-screen, is displayed on the blank screen in a size of 1 to 4 (S6). When there is no blank screen (when the judgment in S5 is No), the transmission moving image as a sub-screen is forcibly displayed at the lower right position on the screen in 1Z4 size (S7). In addition, even if the location information cannot be obtained, the transmission video, which is a small screen, is forcibly displayed at the lower right position on the screen in 1/4 size.

When the selection key is operated (S 1), a still image is selected as the main screen, and a received moving image is selected as the sub screen (S 2), the display mode switching means performs a selection based on this combination of selections. The received moving image, which is a small screen, is forcibly displayed at the lower right position on the screen in 1/4 size (S8).

When the selection key is operated (S1) to select the received image of the 4-split composite screen as the main screen and the still image is selected as the sub-screen (S2), the display mode switching means selects the selected screen. Based on the combination, a still image, which is a small screen, is displayed at the position of the own terminal in 1/4 size (from S9 to S10). At this time, when the own terminal is not displayed (when the determination in S9 is Yes), and when there is a blank screen in the four-division composite screen (when the determination in SI1 is Yes) In this case, a still image, which is a child screen, is displayed in a 1/4 size on the blank screen (S12). If there is no blank screen (if the judgment in SI 1 is No), A still image, which is a screen, is forcibly displayed at the lower right position of the screen in 1 Z4 size (S13). Also, even when the position information cannot be obtained, the still image, which is a small screen, is forcibly displayed at the lower position of the screen in 1/4 size.

[2] When the main screen is a full screen screen

That is, when the selection key is operated (S21) to select the full-screen received video as the main screen and the transmitted video as the sub-screen (S22), the display mode switching means selects the selected screen. Based on the combination, the transmission video as a sub-screen is displayed in a 1/9 size at the lower right position of the screen (S23).

When the selection key is operated (S21) to select a full-screen still image as the main screen and a received video as the sub-screen (S22), the display mode switching means selects the combination of these selections. Based on this, the received moving image, which is a small screen, is displayed in a 1/9 size at the lower right position of the screen (S24).

When the selection key is operated (S21) to select a full-screen received moving image as the main screen and a still image is selected as the sub-screen (S22), the display mode switching means selects the combination of this selection. Based on this, a still image, which is a small screen, is displayed in a 1/4 size at the lower right position of the screen (S25).

In the above embodiment, the selected size of the child screen is described as either 1/4 size or 1/9 size. However, the present invention is not limited to this size. Also, the initial display position of the sub-screen is not limited to the lower right position of the screen. Further, the number of divisions of the main screen is not limited to the four division planes. In short, when the child screen is a still image, the child screen is displayed in a size larger than the conventional size (in the above operation description, it is displayed in 1 Z4 size) so that the child screen is easy to see. The most important feature of the present invention is to dynamically optimize the screen configuration so that the screen size is displayed in a small size so as not to disturb the main screen (displayed in 1-9 size in the above operation description). It is a sign.

In addition, the above-described processing for switching the framing mode by the switching means is such that the initial display size and the display position when the selection key is operated become the same, and then the user operates the keyboard. Operate 1 4 etc. and select the display size The ability to arbitrarily change the display position is the same as in the conventional case.

Also, the above description of the operation is a selection operation only on the own terminal. However, as the video conference terminal 1 a, lb · ■ In in the video conference system, the parent screen and the child screen selected by the own terminal are different from each other. It is convenient if the combination of can be automatically set to other terminals connected via the MCU 13. Therefore, in the present invention, the display mode designation command for designating the combination of the parent screen and the child screen selected by the own terminal is transmitted to each of the communication lines 2 ′ a, 2b. And is also transmitted to other terminals via. When another terminal receives the display mode designation command, the parent screen and the child screen designated by the display mode designation command are received in the same manner as when selected by the keyboard 14 of the own terminal. According to the combination of and, the parent screen and the child screen are selectively displayed according to the processing operation described above (the processing operation shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4). In order to enable transmission and reception of the display mode designation command between terminals, it is necessary to add a relay means for relaying the display mode designation command to MCU 13. Such a configuration corresponds to claim 6. Also, even if any two video conference terminals are directly connected in a one-to-one correspondence via a communication line without using the MCU 13, transmission / reception of the display mode designation command can be performed. The configuration at this time corresponds to claim 5. Industrial applicability

As described above, the television terminal device, the television terminal communication system, and the video conference system according to the present invention are suitable for use in a video conference. -

Claims

. The scope of the claims

1. A television terminal device capable of displaying a sub-screen in the main screen, and the screen configuration of the main screen and the sub-screen according to the type of image displayed on the main screen and the type of image displayed on the sub-screen Terminal provided with means for optimizing

2. The television terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the optimizing means displays the child screen large when the child screen is a still image.

3. The optimizing means may display the sub-screen at the size of one divided screen when the main screen is a divided composite screen, and display the sub-screen smaller when the main screen is a full screen screen. Television terminal device according to range 1.

4. A video conference system comprising: the television terminal device according to claims 1 to 3; and a communication control device for multipoint communication connecting the plurality of television terminal devices via a communication line. And

The video conference system, wherein the communication control device determines a display position of a child screen according to a type of an image to be displayed on a main screen selected by each television terminal device.

5. A television terminal communication system in which the television terminal devices according to Claims 1 to 3 are connected in a one-to-one correspondence via a communication line, wherein each television terminal device is Transmitting means for transmitting a display mode designation command for designating the screen configuration of the parent screen and the child screen optimized by the optimizing means to the other television terminal device via the communication line, and via the communication line A receiving means for receiving a display mode designation command transmitted from the other television terminal device; and a switching means for switching a screen configuration in accordance with the display mode designation command received by the receiving means. TV terminal communication system

6. The communication terminal is connected to the television terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A video conference system comprising an S-reliance control device for multipoint communication connecting the plurality of television terminal devices via

Each of the television terminal devices includes: a transmission unit that transmits a display mode designation command that designates a screen configuration of a parent screen and a child screen optimized by the optimization unit to a communication control device via a communication line; A receiving unit for receiving a display mode designation command transmitted from the communication control device via a line, and a switching unit for switching a screen configuration in accordance with the display mode designation command received by the receiving unit. A video conference system comprising: relay means for transmitting a display mode designation command transmitted from each television terminal device to another television terminal device.